Gavin Stone injury: Dodgers RHP on IL with right shoulder inflammation

Gavin Stone was the only member of the Dodger rotation who had not missed a start due to injury this season. He managed 140 games of a 162-game schedule, holding that distinction, but was placed on the injured list on Friday with right shoulder inflammation, adding another question to the Dodgers' postseason plans.

Stone leads the team with 25 starts and 140⅓ innings this season, and his 11 wins are tied for the most on the Dodgers with a 3.53 ERA and a 3.95 xERA.

His possible return to the rotation is unknown.

Eleven pitchers have started at least four games for the Dodgers in 2024, and nine have spent at least some time on the injured list, including James Paxton, who was healthy before being called up by the team but was injured while playing for the Red Sox. The only two unscathed in that group are Jack Flaherty, who has started six games since being signed at the trade deadline and will take the ball on Sunday against the Guardians; and Justin Wrobleski, who was called up on Friday after allowing 10 runs in last Sunday's botched start at Arizona.

The Dodgers' currently active rotation consists of Landon Knack, who was named the starter on Friday, Wrobleski – the team's starting pitcher is listed as TBA for Saturday, but Wrobleski would be slated to be either the starter or the pitcher for most innings – Flaherty, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller, with just over three weeks of the regular season remaining.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will return to start against the Cubs on Tuesday, an abbreviated start that allows him time for three more regular-season starts to prepare for the postseason. He hasn't pitched at the major league level since June 15.

Tyler Glasnow, who was out with tendinitis in his elbow, played catcher when the club was in Arizona, but he's still a few steps away from even starting rehab, let alone pitching at the major league level. We don't really know how long it will take Clayton Kershaw to get back to full health after his left toe inflammation.

We also don't yet know how severe Stone's injury is, but given the timing, that can't bode well for his prospects in October. That means this will be another Dodgers postseason with dwindling starting pitcher options. That's no way to live.